09.11.2017: AIFF PRESS RELEASE : The Indian U-19 National Team ended their AFC U-19 Championship Qualifiers with a 3-0 win over Turkmenistan in the last match of Group D, here at the Prince Mohammad bin Fahad Stadium today (November 08, 2017).

Skipper Amarjit Singh’s 74th minute strike, Abhishek Halder’s 80th minute tap-in from inside the box and Edmund's late 92nd minute goal proved to be the difference between the two sides in a match largely dominated by the Indian colts.

It was all India in the first half of the match as the young colts, all fired up, dominated possession in the final third and created goal scoring chances at will. As early as the 2nd minute, Nongdamba Naorem had waltzed into the opposition box, only for him to lose possession in a jungle of Turkmenistan legs.

In the 13th minute, Rahim Ali’s rasping shot from inside the box was easily saved by the Turkmenistan custodian, after the Turkmenistan defence line took the sting out of it, as India continued to press for an early lead. Seven minutes later, Ali was at it again, however this time as well his shot was saved by the opposition custodian.

With India continuing to dominate proceedings, the defence line mopped up Turkmenistan’s counter-attacks, providing freedom to the Indian midfield to go forward. In the 26th minute, Amarjit set up Nongdamba Naorem, but Naorem’s shot from outside the box went inches wide of the goal.

Turkmenistan rarely threatened the Indian citadel, but when they did through set-piece scenarios the Indian defence dealt with it easily. However with nothing to show for their domination in the first half, both team went into the tunnel on level pegging as the scoreline read 0-0.

The domination seemed to continue in the second half as well, when in the 51st minute Boris Singh perhaps had the best chance to put India ahead. After playing a one-two with Abhishek Halder, Boris was clear onto goal but could only shoot wide of the framework.

In the 58th minute however, the Indian defence was caught napping and Turkmenistan almost took the lead had the shot not rattled the crossbar. Two minutes later on the other end of play, Anwar Ali’s thumping header off a Sanjeev Stalin corner went inches over the crossbar.

Dheeraj was called onto action in the 72nd minute and the custodian proved his mettle as he kept Turkmenistan from scoring after Anwar Ali had lost his marking player. In the 74th minute, India took the lead after Amarjit Singh blasted the ball home to make the scoreline read 1-0.

In the 80th minute, Abhishek Halder doubled India’s lead after he tapped the ball into an empty net following an accurate cross from the right flank. The Indian colts held off stern Turkmenistan attacks in the dying embers of the match, creating goal scoring chances in counter-attacks with Edmund's 92nd minute strike finally paying off to complete the rout.

The full-time scoreline read 3-0 as India defeated Turkmenistan, amassing four points out of their three matches in the AFC U-19 Championship Qualifiers.

AIFF PRESS RELEASE : The Indian U-19 National Team played a goalless draw against Yemen in their second match of the AFC U-19 Championship Qualifiers at the Prince Mohammad bin Fahad Stadium in Dammam, Saudi Arabia today (November 06, 2017), to open their points tally for the Qualifiers.

It was all Yemen in the first ten minutes of the match as India’s opponents dominated possession and kept threatening the Indian citadel. The Indian defence line however dealt with most of the danger, whilst Dheeraj Singh’s safe hand kept Yemen at bay. The young Colts grew in the match and in the 14th minute, Boris Singh beat his marking defender to run onto a vacant flank, only for his cross to go aloof of Rahim Ali’s head.

Four minutes later, Rahim Ali set up a shot for Amarjit from outside the box, but the latter could only shoot wide of the goal. In the 29th minute, Rahim Ali switched play and found Ninthoi on the flank, who released a pass for an onrushing Suresh Singh. Suresh, from outside the box, failed to test the Yemen custodian as the ball flew over the bar.

Both teams tried to breach other’s citadel but were held at bay by the defensive lines as the half-time scoreline read 0-0.

India had a glorious opportunity to take the lead early in the second half when Rahim Ali was released onto goal. With only the Yemen cutsodian to beat from a tight angle, Rahim Ali shot straight at the goalkeeper resulting in an easy save in the 46th minute.

Four minites later it was Abhishek Haldar’s attempt from inside the box that went inches past the goal after Suresh had found him with an inch perfect cross from the wings. In the 55th minute, Dheeraj Singh was called into action and the custodian did not disappoint as he made an acrobatic save to keep out Yemen.

India held the Yemen attacks at bay whilst started to dominate possession. Chances however became rare for both the teams as the end-to-end tempo resulted in neither getting a clear attempt at goal. At the end of time, nothing could separate the two teams as the full-time scoreline read 0-0.

AIFF PRESS RELEASE : The Indian U-19 National Team lost 5-0 against hosts Saudi Arabia in their opening match of Group D of the AFC U-19 Championship Qualifiers at the Prince Mohammad bin Fahad Stadium here, today (November 04, 2017).

The Indian Colts were slow off the blocks as the hosts tried to take an early advantage, pressurizing the Indian midfield to commit mistakes. Dheeraj Singh was called into action as early as the 9th minute when he thwarted a Saudi attack from the flanks. A minute later, the hosts could have taken the lead but Abdullah Alhamaddan failed to net the ball after rounding up Dheeraj.

In the 15th minute, India gifted the lead to Saudi Arabia after Anwar Ali’s pass was fell to Abdullah Alhamaddan, who slotted the ball into the net to give the hosts a solitary goal lead. Pursuing the equalizer, the Indian colts started to look for counter attacks but were held at bay by a stern Saudi defence.

Ashis Rai’s one-two with Rahul K.P resulted into the former onto goal but Rai could only release a feeble shot unable to trouble the Saudi custodian in the 26th minute. The hosts kept piling on the pressure on India and kept the Indian Colts at distance from their goal as the half-time scoreline read 1-0.

In the 50th minute, Saudi Arabia doubled their lead when Feras Albrikan rounded off an onrushing Dheeraj Singh and scored to make the scoreline read 2-0. The Indian U-19s pressed to minimize the deficit but could only make it past the Saudi midfield, being held by the Saudi defence.

Coach Matos introduced Edmund and Amarjit Singh to spice up things and Edmund’s shot in the 72nd minute from outside the box was lost in the jungle of Saudi legs defending their box. Saudi Arabia added another in the 75th minute to seal the match after Al-Shahrani blasted the ball into the net, capitalizing on scuffle inside the Indian box. Saudi Arabia added another through Al Brikan in the 81st minute to make it 4-0 before he added another in the 86th minute to make it 5-0.

At the end of 90 mins, the scoreline read 5-0 in Saudi Arabia’s favour as India succumbed to a defeat. The Indian U-19s face Yemen next on November 06, 2017 before clashing with Turkmenistan on November 08.

03.11.2017: AIFF PRESS RELEASE : The Indian U-19 National Team will face hosts Saudi Arabia in their opening encounter of Group D of the AFC U-19 Championship qualifiers at the Prince Mohammad bin Fahad Stadium in Dammam, Saudi Arabia tomorrow (November 04, 2017). The kick-off for which is slated at 9:35 PM IST.

Riding on the “positive experience” of the recently concluded FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017 India, Head Coach of the Indian U-19s, Luis Norton de Matos said in the Official Pre-Tournament Press Conference that India will be looking to make an impact, whilst continuing the process of “building football in the next generation”.

“It is very important to continue the process of developing football in the set of boys that have been provided post the World Cup. We will be looking forward to give all the teams a tough fight and aim for a win”, Matos said.

“We will fight till the very end in our upcoming matches, but at the same time we respect our opponents and we know that our opponents have the necessary tools to hurt us. We will have to be focused and stay on our toes throughout the entirety of the matches”

“We aim to play against the best and we are drawn in a group that have some of the best youth teams in Asia. Against Saudi Arabia, it will be a very tough clash and the fact that they will be playing at home will add to that”, he added.

Comprising of a mixture of players from Indian U-17 World Cup Team and India’s U-19 team which played in the SAFF U-19 Championship in Bhutan, the Indian U-19 National Team has been pitted in Group D alongside hosts Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Turkmenistan.

“The set of players that we have are special and some of the boys who were part of the FIFA U-17 World Cup are in the Indian U-19s, which make it a very special experience of them of playing against some of the best youth teams of Asia”

“We are preparing for the future and through the process the players are bound to grow with the experience that they will get throughout”, Matos quipped. “The FIFA U-17 World Cup proved that the new generation can follow football and we wish to capitalize on this growth”

In their preparation for the AFC U-19 Championship Qualifiers, India had an exposure tour of Qatar wherein the colts played against Qatar U-19s and Al-Gharafa Club, losing 1-0 against the former and defeating the latter 3-1. “The exposure tours helped us in our preparation for the Qualifiers as they gave us time for team chemistry to build both on and off the field. Our strength is our unity and if we aim to play as a single unit in the upcoming matches”, Matos informed.

Meanwhile, the Head Coach of Saudi Arabia Khalid Alatawi gave credit to India and said, “India are one of the teams that have evolved good with time and they (India) have made good progress. They (India) are quick on the ball and will be tough opponents tomorrow”